Suggestions Needed - Upscale BBQ Menu

Hello,

My fiancée and I are throwing an engagement party at the end of September. We are leaning towards an "upscale bbq" menu but are having trouble coming up with ideas for the menu that are unique yet approachable (for our guests that might not be as culinarily explorative as we like to think we are). Does anyone have suggestions for the menu that fit this criteria?

Thanks in advance for your input and suggestions!"

OTF

I had a friend who had BBQ for her rehearsal dinner and she had the following:

grilled aspargus and portabello mushrooms
chicken skewers with a citrus/jalepeno salsa
grilled beef tenderloin
shrimp and grits
roasted small potatoes
grilled pineapple with vanilla ice cream and vanilla pound cake for dessert

How about Escrementi del Drago?
Aleppo peppers stuffed with chopped salumi, bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic and finely-diced eggplant, wrapped with pancetta and smoked.

just made that up on the spot to try to upscale GWiv's classic

Thanks for the suggestions! I forgot to mention in my original post that we not doing a full sit-down dinner -- just passed apps.

Thanks again!

OTF

Dates wrapped in bacon. Pretty much all you would need

OldTownFoodie wrote:Thanks for the suggestions! I forgot to mention in my original post that we not doing a full sit-down dinner -- just passed apps.

You cooking or buying? When you say BBQ do you mean grilling or actual Low & Slow BBQ?

Jamieson22 wrote:Dates wrapped in bacon. Pretty much all you would need

Next time out try stuffing the date with a bit of goat cheese and inserting an almond before wrapping with bacon and securing with a toothpick. Delish grilled on a low fire or smoked. Recipe credit to RevrendAndy.

G Wiv wrote: When you say BBQ do you mean grilling or actual Low & Slow BBQ?

I was wondering the same thing.

I can give some ideas for grilling(a cookout), or for bbq(slow and low). but they are 2 totally different things.

Wow -- I left a lot of necessary info out of the original post....

The engagement party is going to be catered by the kitchen staff of a local country club (the venue) so I'm pretty sure it will be more of the traditional bbq variety rather than the real stuff

Thanks again!

OTF

Portabello mushroom caps stuffed with shrimp, gorgonzola cheese and fresh basil topped with strips of roasted red peppers.

Whenever I make those Dragon things, people LOVE them and they go very quickly.

(it's pretty much a variation on taking a jalapeno and stuffing it with sausage, wrapping it in bacon, and either grilling or smoking it - stuffing can be just sausage, or also with cheese, an almond, etc)

If the peppers have been seeded and de-ribbed, they really end up mild, not spicy.